{"id":11576,"date":"2015-09-01T01:10:05","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T06:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=12157"},"modified":"2015-08-30T13:23:35","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T18:23:35","slug":"hedgewitch-days-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2015\/09\/01\/hedgewitch-days-10\/","title":{"rendered":"HedgeWitch Days!"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE MAGIC OF A SONG AND A BISCUIT!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hi my lovelies!<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

September, ahhh, I love it! Crisp autumnal walks in the fading sunshine, crunching of leaves and nut husks underfoot and the hedgerows bedecked with scarlet berries.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is my all-time favourite time of the year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the peace that descends over the land as the children are once again contained by the walls of the school, yay! The colours of autumn can quite take your breath away, here in magical Wiltshire it is glorious as the fields are stripped bare and the chaff is singed down, the trees explode into a riot of uplifting and comforting hues\u2026and all of us that walk this path rejoice in the second harvest, Mabon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The equinoxes are literally a time of balance, once again as the wheel of the year turns we stop and take a moment to celebrate and give thanks, and this is our biggest thanksgiving festival of all. The light and dark are at that now poised on the edge of change once again, signalling for us to stop and take stock. I love that we have these points on the wheel of our year, it\u2019s so wonderful to be reminded every 6 or so weeks to pause, take a breath, and ready ourselves for the next chapter\u2026bit like a coffee break in the calendar! Ummm, biscuits, see how my mind wanders, it\u2019s amazing that I ever get past the first sentence of anything I write! Where was I? Oh yes, biscuits\u2026nope, oh yes\u2026 Mabon!!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ok, so we have a wonderful harvest to celebrate, beautiful leaves to walk through and dress our altars with, nuts and berries to gather and use, so what, as a solitary Hedgewitch can you do to celebrate the second Harvest, welcome the dark half of the year and honour the Goddess and the horned one? Of course you can hold your own thanksgiving ritual, light candles and bedeck you and your home with all the joys and colours of this time of year, but how about this year doing something like that famous song says\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2019\u2019You\u2019re going to reap just what you sow!\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now I know we really aren\u2019t at the sowing time of the year, and we are reaping the harvest now, and so we have technically already done that line in the song this year, but I think that sowing the seeds of magic that slowly grow through the dark half of the year means a stronger harvest when it eventually comes but maybe we should now sow a seed of magic to reap in the future\u2026Which of course, if you know me and how my brain works brings me back to, yes you\u2019ve guessed it, biscuits! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Time to get those aprons on guys and whip up a batch of yummy seasonal biscuits, which a little magic thrown in of course<\/span><\/span>?<\/span><\/span>! Elderberries are so underused unless they are in Jams, jellies and cordials so get picking these gorgeous plump gems whilst they are in season, how convenient that the season runs from now to just before Samhain, making these little guys perfect for our Mabon recipe. Don\u2019t forget to check the Hazel for any nuts too, it\u2019s always a race to beat our squirrel friends to their nutty goodness, but hey, maybe this year is my year to win! Remember as ever, if you forage for your ingredients, leave plenty for our wild friends, take only what you need.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ELDERBERRY and HAZELNUT COOKIES<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Preheat your oven to 180\u2019c) <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Light a simple candle to the Goddess<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You will need;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

110g salted butter<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

200g sugar<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2 eggs<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Juice of half a lemon<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2 tablespoons milk<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

240g flour<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bd tsp baking powder<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bd cup elderberries<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bd cup chopped cob or hazelnuts\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Method<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Place the butter in a saucepan and melt gently over a low heat.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Once butter has melted pour into a large bowl and combine with the sugar, lemon juice, eggs and milk. Whisk together in a clockwise direction and say;<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I stir for positivity, light and love for all.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Continue to whisk until smooth.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir clockwise saying;<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Wheat of the earth, bind this spell for me.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Once the mixture is smooth, tip in the Elderberries and chopped nuts. Stir gently clockwise to combine and say;<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Fruits of the earth, seal this spell for me.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Place your bowl of cookie batter next to your lit candle and say;<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Light of the goddess, please bless this spell for me.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Leave your bowl next to the candle for 15mins to bless the work you have done.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
          2. After 15mins has passed, drop tablespoons of the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, leaving room to spread between cookies.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
          3. Place in the oven and cook for approx. 10-15mins (remove when just golden brown.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Allow cookies to cool slightly on the tray before moving carefully to a cooling rack.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            You can dress these cookies up by drizzling the top with a little white chocolate if desired or change the flavour by adding a little orange or lemon peel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Ok, now you have your wonderful cookies, time to reap what you have sown my lovelies! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Place your cookies in a tin, on a plate, whatever you have, hold your hands over them and say;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Mabon blessings on this my spell<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Sown with love, all is well!<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Then take your cookies and give them to someone! A neighbour, a nursing home, a homeless person, anyone you wouldn\u2019t normally interact with on a daily basis. Give them with love and blessings, with a smile as warm as the sun and a heart full of golden light.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Your spell is complete my lovelies\u2026and you will find you WILL reap what you have sown, the dark half of the year awaits with its many blessings, haven\u2019t we got off to a good start!!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Of course once you\u2019ve completed your spell you should really make some more, you know, just to check they are ok hehehe\u2026it would be rude not too, I\u2019ll put the kettle on, cuppa???<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            Mabon bounty and love guys, and as ever<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/a> Bright blessings<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            THE MAGIC OF A SONG AND A BISCUIT! Hi my lovelies! September, ahhh, I love it! Crisp autumnal walks in the fading sunshine, crunching of leaves and nut husks underfoot and the hedgerows bedecked with scarlet berries. This is my all-time favourite time of the year. Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the peace that descends over the land as the children are once again contained by the walls of the school, yay! The colours of autumn can quite take your breath away, here in magical Wiltshire it is glorious as the fields are stripped bare and the chaff is singed down, the trees explode into a riot of uplifting and comforting hues\u2026and all of us that walk this path rejoice in the second harvest, Mabon. The equinoxes are literally a time of balance, once again as the wheel of the year turns we stop and take a moment to celebrate and give thanks, and this is our biggest thanksgiving festival of all. The light and dark are at that now poised on the edge of change once again, signalling for us to stop and take stock. I love that we have these points on the wheel of our year, it\u2019s so wonderful to be reminded every 6 or so weeks to pause, take a breath, and ready ourselves for the next chapter\u2026bit like a coffee break in the calendar! Ummm, biscuits, see how my mind wanders, it\u2019s amazing that I ever get past the first sentence of anything I write! Where was I? Oh yes, biscuits\u2026nope, oh yes\u2026 Mabon!!! Ok, so we have a wonderful harvest to celebrate, beautiful leaves to walk through and dress our altars with, nuts and berries to gather and use, so what, as a solitary Hedgewitch can you do to celebrate the second Harvest, welcome the dark half of the year and honour the Goddess and the horned one? Of course you can hold your own thanksgiving ritual, light candles and bedeck you and your home with all the joys and colours of this time of year, but how about this year doing something like that famous song says\u2026 \u2019\u2019You\u2019re going to reap just what you sow!\u2019\u2019 Now I know we really aren\u2019t at the sowing time of the year, and we are reaping the harvest now, and so we have technically already done that line in the song this year, but I think that sowing the seeds of magic that slowly grow through the dark half of the year means a stronger harvest when it eventually comes but maybe we should now sow a seed of magic to reap in the future\u2026Which of course, if you know me and how my brain works brings me back to, yes you\u2019ve guessed it, biscuits! Time to get those aprons on guys and whip up a batch of yummy seasonal biscuits, which a little magic thrown in of course?! Elderberries are so underused unless they are in Jams, jellies and cordials so get picking these gorgeous plump gems whilst they are in season, how convenient that the season runs from now to just before Samhain, making these little guys perfect for our Mabon recipe. Don\u2019t forget to check the Hazel for any nuts too, it\u2019s always a race to beat our squirrel friends to their nutty goodness, but hey, maybe this year is my year to win! Remember as ever, if you forage for your ingredients, leave plenty for our wild friends, take only what you need. ELDERBERRY and HAZELNUT COOKIES (Preheat your oven to 180\u2019c) Light a simple candle to the Goddess You will need; 110g salted butter 200g sugar 2 eggs Juice of half a lemon 2 tablespoons milk 240g flour \u00bd tsp baking powder \u00bd cup elderberries \u00bd cup chopped cob or hazelnuts\u00a0 Method Place the butter in a saucepan and melt gently over a low heat. Once butter has melted pour into a large bowl and combine with the sugar, lemon juice, eggs and milk. Whisk together in a clockwise direction and say; I stir for positivity, light and love for all. Continue to whisk until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir clockwise saying; Wheat of the earth, bind this spell for me. Once the mixture is smooth, tip in the Elderberries and chopped nuts. Stir gently clockwise to combine and say; Fruits of the earth, seal this spell for me. Place your bowl of cookie batter next to your lit candle and say; Light of the goddess, please bless this spell for me. Leave your bowl next to the candle for 15mins to bless the work you have done. After 15mins has passed, drop tablespoons of the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, leaving room to spread between cookies. Place in the oven and cook for approx. 10-15mins (remove when just golden brown. Allow cookies to cool slightly on the tray before moving carefully to a cooling rack. You can dress these cookies up by drizzling the top with a little white chocolate if desired or change the flavour by adding a little orange or lemon peel. Ok, now you have your wonderful cookies, time to reap what you have sown my lovelies! Place your cookies in a tin, on a plate, whatever you have, hold your hands over them and say; Mabon blessings on this my spell Sown with love, all is well! Then take your cookies and give them to someone! A neighbour, a nursing home, a homeless person, anyone you wouldn\u2019t normally interact with on a daily basis. Give them with love and blessings, with a smile as warm as the sun and a heart full of golden light. Your spell is complete my lovelies\u2026and you will find you WILL reap what you have sown, the dark half of the year awaits with its many blessings, haven\u2019t we got off to a good start!!! Of course once you\u2019ve completed your spell you should really make some more, you know, just to check they are ok hehehe\u2026it would be rude not too, I\u2019ll put the kettle on, cuppa??? Mabon bounty and love guys, and as ever Bright blessings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}